Progressives mobilize in Georgia for Dec. 6 senate runoff

While more than 500,000 Georgians have already cast their ballots for a December 6 runoff, progressive leaders and groups are encouraging Peach State voters to help U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, the Democratic incumbent, defeat his GOP challenger, ex-football player Herschel Walker.

The tight race has implications for not only Georgia but the entire country; though Democrats lost their majority in the U.S. House earlier this month, Warnock winning reelection would give his party 51 Senate seats—allowing for control of the chamber without a power-sharing agreement and making it easier to confirm President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees, including to the Supreme Court.

Jayapal, who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, is planning a virtual phone bank for Wednesday. According to her team, “We’ll talk to voters to make sure they have all the information they need to make their voices heard and keep Sen. Warnock in office!”

Warnock—a reverend who serves as the senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, the spiritual home of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.—has also won support from fellow faith leaders. Over 30 of them came together Monday at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Rev. Timothy McDonald III encouraged voting for Warnock during a Saturday eulogy for a longtime friend and from his pulpit on Sunday.

The Georgia Poor People’s Campaign has launched a statewide canvassing, text-banking, and social media campaign to reach out to low-income voters in support of the Democrat.

Rev. Dr. William Barber II, who co-chairs the national Poor People’s Campaign, spoke during a Sunday worship service at St. Mary’s Road United Methodist Church in Columbus, Georgia, and “Moral Monday” rally in Atlanta, where he was joined by fellow co-chair Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis along with local speakers.

Originally published at Commondreams.org.